Canada police detain lone suspect in 'credible' threat

Reuters

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian police said on Wednesday they had detained an individual after they received "credible information of a potential terrorist threat" carried out by a lone suspect.

The suspect was identified and the police took actions to ensure the safety of the public, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a statement. No further details on the arrest or the suspect were provided.

Intelligence sources, who declined to be identified as they did not have permission to speak to media, told Reuters that the suspect was Aaron Driver, who was arrested last year for openly supporting Islamic State on social media.

Driver was not charged with a crime, but in February he was placed on a peace bond, a court order that restricted his movement, required that he stay away from social media and computers and not have contact with Islamic State or similar groups.

The sources also confirmed that the arrest on Wednesday stemmed from a new video Driver made in which he threatened an attack on a "major city."

Driver's lawyer was not immediately available for comment.

Driver lives in Strathroy, Ontario, a small community some 225 km (140 miles) southwest of Toronto, the intelligence sources told Reuters.

Late on Wednesday, reports emerged on Twitter that police had raided a home in Strathroy and that it was tied to the arrest. "Heavy RCMP and police presence at Park St. home in Strathroy," London Free Press reporter Jennifer Biemen tweeted.

A spokeswoman at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Canada's spy agency, declined to comment on the arrest, referring all queries to the RCMP.

The RCMP said in its statement that the investigation was still underway and it would not provide further comment. Media relations officers did not immediately return phone calls and emails.